You love them or hate them, office parties; I could not stand them, particularly this one given by my ex, and it was one of those awkward ones. It was my ex-girlfriends fortieth birthday party, and because she was the boss of the department, she had invited people from other departments as well, some of whom I didn't know, one of them was her new flame.
We, that is my ex and I, had been together for six, nearly seven months; it was nice while it lasted. We left on amicable terms a month ago, we're still friends. But it pains to see her every day, it brings back memories, and it hurts.
The office building we worked in had a large conference room, she had all the tables and chairs put around the outside, which left a sort of dance floor in the middle.
Around fifty people were expected and I helped her with stuff she wanted me to help her with. I didn't mind, as most of the work was to be done if office hours.
My name is Jack; I'm thirty three, white, and single. I work in the human recourses department for a large stationary company.
I had my eye on someone, but not at work. It was someone from the gym I went to, that was still work in progress. And the thing that stopped me from diving in was the fact that I still felt something for my ex, part of my heart still yearned for her.
The day... well actually... the evening of the party; everyone promptly stopped work at their normal time. Some people like me went off home, as they like me did not live too far away, a short taxi drive for those who wanted to drink that evening - mainly to freshen up and get changed for the party.
The party was to start at seven o'clock. There was a DJ booked and caterers were hired for the food.
I got back to the office at around seven thirty, and to be honest, there weren't that many people there. I supposed being late was fashionable. The music was loud and the food was all laid out on the top table together with the drinks. There was a person acting as a barman.
I saw the birthday girl with some of her out of work place friends. I went and said hello and happy birthday, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. I gave her a bunch of flowers I had picked up on the way there, nice ones, not trashy ones. Her new flame stood and stared at me.
I got a drink and then joined some people from my department at a table, we chatted. People started to come along but it was another hour or so before the room looked like there was a party going on.
I went to get a round of drinks for the few of us around my table. There was a lady who walked up at the same time as I did. We both raised our hands at the same time for the attention of the barman.
I recognised her and said, "Oh hi, please you go first."
She said, "Hello, you're very kind thank you."
I recognised her from when I had interviewed her about a month ago, for a job in accounts. I had forgotten her name, I felt embarrassed. She ordered her drinks and while we waited, I said to her, "Hi again, how are you getting on with your new job?"
The main reason I recognised her were her eyes, she had amazing eyes, absolutely stunning, they were brown, like most Indian women have, but still very captivating, together with her looks, she looked amazing, well out of my league.
As I recalled, she was around twenty eight years old, had a previous job, but left as this one paid better. She had the typical long black hair, which ran down to her arse. Her complexion was very clean and clear, she did not use a lot of makeup and as I looked on, she just did not need any. She was just as tall as me, at five foot eight inches. But she dressed very modern for an Indian lady.
I was amazed that she actually was dressed the way she was. Usually Indian women are so modestly dressed, but she was dressed in a thin white blouse and I could see a white bra underneath. She wore a short dark blue pencil dress, which showed off her very shapely legs, and her white stilettoes threw off her well-formed calves.
She looked over and directly into my eyes, I felt uncomfortable, they were so piercing, she said, "It's Jack yes! I like it, people are so nice. I've made some friends."
I felt so small, as I could not remember her name. My hand came up to my head and I scratched it, she must have known and she said, "Bap, Everyone calls me Bap."
I still was a bit confused as I didn't remember that name at all, I said, "Oh... right... Bap!"
She smiled and must have known that that was not the name I would recall. And she said, "That's not my real name, but everyone and you can call me Bap."
By that time her drinks were ready and as she went off she said, "I hope to see you later... Jack."
I ordered my drinks and took them back to our table. People were then on the dance floor and having a good time.
I looked over to another table and there was the birthday girl, my ex, being kissed by her bloke. I kept looking at them, bastard kissed her blatantly for far too long for my liking and my trance was only broken by a person next to me who shook my arm and said, "Let it go Jack, move on."
My head dropped, my eyes closed and I looked away. I took a long drink and had to go and wash my face. I made my excuse and left the table towards the toilets.
I got to the loos and to my surprise they were empty, I expected a queue or something. I didn't need a pee; I just wanted to wash my face. As I turned the water on, I heard noises, I was not alone.
I turned my head towards the sounds, they came from a cubicle; there were four cubicles, and the second one had the door closed. It was obvious, the 'Oo's and aah's,' that came from there were of a couple having some fun, yeah... okay... sex.
I turned back to the water and washed my face. I dried off and looked at myself in the mirror, and thought I should be over her by now. I made my way back to the party. As I walked along the corridor I noticed Bap walked the other way; I presumed to the loos as well, with another lady, as they do, ladies always seem to travel in two's to the loos.
Bap looked and smiled at me and said, "Hi Jack."
The other lady giggled and looked away from my glance. I didn't say anything; I just held up my hand, wiggled the fingers and walked on.
The party seemed to go well, and it was close to eleven o'clock. And because it was a weekday, Wednesday, we all still had work to come back to tomorrow.
The DJ had started to play the slower tunes, and there were only about six couples on the dance floor, others had left, or were about to.
One of the couples still on the floor was my ex and her bloke. Their bodies close, she had her hands underneath his arms and laid on his upper back, and his hands were on her arse, slowly fondled her as they moved and kissed.
The music stopped, I wanted another drink, I stood and was about to make my way to the bar. I looked behind me to ask the only other person on my table if he wanted anything. And 'Whack,' I bumped into someone, it was the bloke.
I stopped in my tracks, but he stumbled and almost fell, he looked like he had more than his fair share of drinks. I looked back around and said, "Sorry mate, you okay?"
I wasn't that sorry, and he wasn't my mate, but I was too nice a person. He came up close to me and looked at me as if he wanted to kill me. I put out my hands and said, "It was an accident, okay."
He looked angry, his face reddened, his body stiffened and as I looked down to his hands, he had started to form a fist. I didn't want that, not at her party.
I looked to him and said, "Look mate, it was an accident. I'm sorry, what more do you want?"